Luminescent amusement device



Jan. 25, 1949. J. M. GORDON 2,460,221

LUMINESCENT AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed June 9, 1944 liz/wz/ork 10/ zfoae v/z'fi. 'ard'ozz Patented Jan. 25 1949 UNITED OFF-16s- LUMINESCENT AMUSEMENT DEVICE J oseph M. Gordon, Chicago, 111., assignor to Raymond T. Moloney', Chicago, Ill.

Application lane 9, 1944, Serial No. 539,411

glow or give off light when exposed to a suitable light source.

6 Claims. (01. 250-71) The principal object of the invention is the provision of amusement or instruction means;

which includes a sheet treated with a so-called'z luminous paint or pigment, such that when the.

sheet is exposed to natural or artificial light, it will glow with an appreciable amount of luminosity after the light source is removed or exposure discontinued, together with the provision of substantially opaque outline-forming or shadow-casting figures, which may be arranged;-

variously upon the treated sheet prior to exposure, so that upon such exposure, and subsequent removal of the figures from the sheet, there will remain delineated uponthe sheet the outlines of the figures.

5.20 A further object is the provision of meansior.

erasing the aforesaid outlines easily and quickly in order that other and different figure arrangements may be made at the pleasure of the user;

A further object is the provision of an sis-7. semblage of figure or outline forming elements adapted to be combined in various ways to produce different figure or outlinepatterns'.

A further object is the provisionof means for '30 ing or erasing means in a conve'nient'uni't suitmounting the light-sensitive sheet and quenchable for use by children, and generally facilitatingthe manipulation of the novel device.

Additional objects and aspects of novelty and ing sheet, and certain figure or outline formingobjects thereon;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentarycross section taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1; a

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating the use of the device in forming an outline byartificial light; I.

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the use of the erasing or quenching means;

Fig. 5 illustrates a modified assemblage of the figure-forming elements; v g

The embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1- includes a sheet ill of cardboard or the like folded along a line H to form a book.

Adhesively secured to one inside face of the folder or book is a sheet H (see Fig. 2- also) treated with a light-sensitive coating Ii of zinc sulphide, activated to increase its luminescent qualities. Other luminous paints or salts known in the art may be used ifde'sired; The zi-ric sulphide is preferably mixed in cellulose" nitrate lacquer and sprayed or screened onto the sheet 2 4 12. When exposed to light, the sheet pprtiondi, that is to say the coating |3 thereon-, will glow with a characteristic greenish huewhen taken out of stronglight.

After the light-sensitive been exposed to artificial or natura il ght as aforesaid and removed to a place of relative darkness, the glow oriuminescent efiect wi; persist for a considerable time and finally radia away; 7

Various outline or shadow patterns may be formed on the light-sensitive membenby means of figure-forming elements such as shown arranged at the bottom of Fig. 1, and including in this instance a body element [5, leg elements {6, head and beak elements I1 and 18 respectively, and tail elements; I9.

The aforesaid figure-forming elements inay preferably be made of opaque cardboard or the like and are supplied in a variety of shapes adapted to be assembled to form difierent outline patterns according to the skill and imagination of the user. Q

For example, the same elements used at the bottom of Fig. 1 may be arranged to, provide a diif'erent pattern, as in Fig. 5, wherein the elements are identified by the same reference numerals followed respectively by the su fhx X.

Assuming that the figure-forming elements have been arranged as at the bottom of} Fig. l, the light-sensitive surface 13 is exposed tollight from the source vor lamp L, as in Fig. 3 ,-wl iierein the arrangement of elements is en-eraiiy indicated at F; a The arrangement of elements willshield the light-sensitil7e surface from the radiation from source L, with the result that when the device is withdrawn to a place of relative darkness, or the lamp L is turned off, and the elements [5, [6,11, 3 and I9 removed from surface [3, there will be left an area: of surface [3 which is not excited and which will not glow, and this area, generally indicated at 22 at the top of lfwhich may be assumed to have originated from-a pf vious exposure of figure-formin elements arrgiii igted near the top of the book, will have theoutline of the particular pattern or arrangement. oflzelements which has been thus exposed.

As previously alluded to, the outline will be in the nature of a shadow-picture or silhouette 22, which will persist for some minutes after withdr'awal of the exciting light source; 1'

In order to quickly erase outlines thus formed and clear the light-sensitive surface" [3 for reception of further patterns, there is provided [a quenching means in the form of a sheet 25 of paper or suitable cellulose material or the like, colored or pigmented or dyed red or amber to degree sufficient to permit the passage therethrough of light radiations near the infrared portion of the spectrum, and to substantially elude visible and higher frequencies of light above the infra-red.

This quenching sheet 25 is secured along the fold line H of the book member as by adhesivehinge means 26, so that this sheet 25 may be folded into the positions of Figs. 3 and 4.

Quenching or erasing of patterns or silhouettes procured by previous exposure is accomplished as I in Fig. 4 by turning the sheet 25 over. onto the surface l3 and exposing the upper surface of sheet 25 to radiation from a light source such a's'lamp L for a few seconds, following whichthe light- 1 sensitive surface I3 is again ready to receive new passed through the filter meansfi'd.

While the invention affords amusement andins'tru'ction in the commercial embodiment illus-' trated and described, additional applications are contemplated where temporary record A may be useful in a region ofdarkn'ess, for thedevice may be used'with a suitablefiaslflight to impress numbers on the light-sensitive recording sheet through thin paper upon which relatively opaque numbers are imprinted. Also, photogenic negatives and the like may be employed for the outline or pattern-forming means.

.Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect ent of the United States is: t

, 1. A device of the class described comprising 'a sheet surfaced with a luminescent paint adapted to' glow for record purposes after exposure to visible light, and a filter member hingedly mount by Letters Pat- 4 the latter and adapted for exposure to visible light to erase the silhouettes formed thereon as aforesaid.

4. Luminescent copying means comprising a member coated with activated zinc sulphide which .will be excited by visible light to provide a temporary record luminescence, and a quenching sheet treated to be color-selective in transmission of light to exclude light which will excite the coating on said member, but which will transmit light energy capable of quenching said record excitation' of said'coated member when the latter has been exposed to visible light, said coated member and quenching sheet being joined in relatively movable operative association such that the quenching sheet may be moved into positions upon and off of the coated member.

5. Luminescent copying means comprising a member coated with alight-sensitive substance adapted to become luminous temporarily after exposure to light,and a second member color-treated to exclude light which will excite luminosity in the first member but which will transmit light energy adapted to extinguish luminosity of the first member when placed upon the latter and lexposed to a source of light including infra-red portions of the spectrum, said members being hingedly joined together such that the said second member maybe turned onto or off of the coated portion, at least, of the other said member, into and out of luminosity-extinguishing relationship thereto.

6. Amusement and instruction copying means comprising, in combination as an article of manud wi h Sa d first-mentioned Sheet mOVB 011136 facture, a folder including a sheet treated with a and away'from said sheet and colored red to a degree adapted to filter out light which will excite said luminescent paint but which will pass light of longer wavelength than visible light and in the I neighborhood of infra-red wavelengths for the purpose of quenching excitation'of said luminescent paint by radiation including infra-red radiations andvisible light, whichis directed upon the filter member when in osition upon said sheet. t

2. Adevice 0f .the class described including first sheet after exposure of the latter with an means providing a record-receiving surface of zinc sulphide, which will afterglow to outline the form of opaque record-forming patterns which have been placed'thereupon, and said surface and patterns having been exposed to light of a type to excite the portionsof said surface not covered by Said patterns, and an infra-red filter shaped to be received in place upon said surface and exposed to a light source including infra-red radiation which is passed by said filter upon said surface'to erase excitation on the record-receiving surface. v y

'3 Ar'i'article 'ofmanufacture, namely amusement and instruction means, including luminescent copying means comprising a sheet of lightsensitive material adapted to glow'after exposure to visible light and of the'class of zinc sulphide activated; aplurality'of detached patternforming elements opaque to light which will excite said light-sensitive material and variously shaped soasto be arranged in various mannersby placement on said sheet to form thereon a variety. of corresponding silhouettes by exposing the sheet and pattern elements thereon to visible light and.

sensitive sheet for movement onto and away. from luminous substance adapted to glow in the dark after exposure to light; a sheet colored red to reddish amber hinged in said folder to turn upon or away from said first sheet, and a plurality of pattern-forming elements of material opaque to light which will excite luminosity in said first sheet, said elements being adapted for arrangement upon said first sheet to form copy figures, the silhouette of said figures appearing upon said arrangement of said elements thereon to light, said silhouettes becoming apparent upon removal of the elements after exposure and examination in a place of relative darkness, said silhouettes being extinguished by turning said second sheet upon the first and exposing the first sheet to light transmitted through the second sheet.

' JOSEPH M. GORDON.

REFERENCES CITED .'The following references are of ,record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 831,591 Aylsworth Sept. 25, 1906 1,219,731 7 vHall Mar. 20, 1917 1,304,773 Howell May 27, 1919 1,346,017 Goodman July 6, 1920 1,418,240 Curie-ct al May 30, 1922 1,543,931 Law June 30, 1925 1,565,256 Christenson -Dec. 15, 1925 1,592,393 Sulzherger July 13, 1926 1,724,572 Geisen Aug. 13, 1929 7 2,120,916 Bitner June 14, 1938 2,125,780 Goggin Aug. 2, 1938 2,225,044 George Dec. 17, 1940 Sherwood Aug. 24,1943 

